


Fire Whiskey

by pearconfident



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-01
Updated: 2020-04-01
Packaged: 2021-03-01 00:13:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,506
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23426053
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pearconfident/pseuds/pearconfident
Summary: Hermione hadn't expected Sirius to find her drunk in the library at Grimmauld Place, but when his curiosity and teasing push her to the brink, will she finally be honest about who she's been pining over?
Relationships: Sirius Black/Hermione Granger
Comments: 2
Kudos: 145





	1. Chapter 1

She could see the shock on his face, well faces because there were currently two Sirius Black's floating in front of her. She had holed herself up in the library after he went to bed with a few bottles of wine, they were now empty at her feet, and she'd moved on to fire whiskey. Not the most responsible choice she could've made, but it felt so _good_.

"Kid, you all right?" She heard him ask, and all she could do was giggle. That voice was _sinful_. It had been the topic of many late-night conversations between her and Ginny when they stayed here during their fifth year. It wasn't the only part of him that was sinful either.

"Did you drink all this wine?" He asked, suddenly in front of her his face finally coming into focus.

"And some fire whiskey." Hermione heard herself respond with a self-satisfied smirk.

"Must've been some night," Sirius replied, seemingly unable to decide if he should be concerned or amused at her drunkenness. She'd surely caught him in the library in much the same state many times before, but she was _Hermione Granger_ , no one expected this from her.

"Ron brought _Thora Selpie_ to dinner at the Burrow tonight, _Thora_ fucking _Selpie._ " Hermione slurred her words, but the disgust was evident on her face.

"Am I supposed to know who that is?" Sirius asked, sipping on his own freshly poured glass of fire whiskey.

"She was _three_ years below us at school; she's barely 19. Ron brought a _child_ to dinner because he wanted me to be _jealous_." Hermione responded, taking a hefty swig of her fire whiskey. She enjoyed the burn of it more than the sweetness of wine, at least it adds some physicality to the disgust she was feeling.

"Ron isn't the brightest bulb on the Weasley tree; I thought we all knew that," Sirius said, but the smirk on his face belied his amusement at the whole predicament.

"And besides," He countered, "You two broke up ages ago."

" _Yes_ , but I've refrained from prancing a parade of men through Molly Weasley's front door out of respect for our friendship." Hermione shot back, her eyes lighting up with annoyance despite the alcohol coursing through her veins.

"A parade of men?" Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow. He lived with her after all, and he hadn't seen one wizard pass through the front door of Grimmauld Place since she'd moved in.

"I am both charming and _discreet_ , Sirius. Besides, the one wizard I wish would give me a second glance has not been informed that I am an adult and no longer a schoolgirl. Thus, _a parade of men_." Hermione bit back, a blush rising to her cheeks.

"Ah, Hermione has a crush." Sirius joked at her expense, the blush on her cheeks getting even redder with his teasing.

"I can't believe I've let myself pine away for him for so long," Hermione began, dropping her head in her hands. "Even Ginny is appalled at my inability to get over this schoolgirl crush."

"It's not Snivellus, I hope, that would be disturbing." Sirius joked, before being sickened at his suggestion.

"I may have been a school girl when I met him, but that doesn't mean I met him at Hogwarts, you ridiculous man." She responded, her discomfort at the idea mirroring his own.

"Well, who is he then?" Sirius probed, the liquor making him more curious and probing than he usually would've been.

"I can't tell you that," Hermione responded, trying her hardest to look serious although she was drunk.

"Come on, Kitten," Sirus purred, "You're drunk in my library, the least you could do is tell me why." He was egging her on, and she knew it, but the alcohol made her feel so bold, and she hated to lose a challenge.

"Don't, please," Hermione said, pushing herself up from her seat to stagger towards the kitchen.

"Hermione, come on. I don't bite." She heard him call from behind her as he made to follow her across the house.

She ignored him and kept up her warpath to the cupboard, which held her secret stash of chocolate. Tonight was quickly overwhelming her, and she couldn't handle the warmth of the library anymore.

Hermione had barely opened the cupboard when she felt him standing close behind her. She whirled around, grasping for her wand on instinct only to realize she'd left it tucked in her robes in the other room.

"I promise I won't tell whoever it is Hermione or anyone else for that matter. But you can't fault an old man for being curious." He teased, his hands coming to cage her against the counter.

"I- I'm too drunk for this." She told him as she tried to wriggle out of his grasp, it was heating her cheeks even more than the fire whiskey had.

"Just tell me the name, and I'll set you free," He told her with a mischievous smile that reminded her of George Weasley.

"He's older." Hermione relented a little, her mind becoming distracted at the sight of his tattoos peeking out of the low neckline of his black button-up shirt.

"Scandalous." He replied, still eyeing her as he waited for more information.

Suddenly Hermione decided to give him a taste of his own medicine. He wanted to play with her, tease her; she was going to give as good as she got. Any other night and she would've kneed him in the balls, but tonight the fire whiskey had given her the courage that she'd been waiting years to acquire.

"Are you sure you want to know?" She asked him again, this time, her smile matching his. He almost faltered at the playful look in her eyes but persisted and nodded in agreement.

Without so much as a pause after his affirmation, she grabbed the silk robe he was wearing and pulled him even closer, crashing her lips onto his in a haphazard way she blamed on the drink. He tensed against her lips at first but was quick to respond. He had a hand on her hip that gripped her tight to his body, and another hand tangled itself into her curls as he deepened their kiss.

She broke away for a second, and he stared down at her, slightly confused.

"It's you, you daft old man." She told him with a breathless chuckle.

He only smiled that lewd smile and pulled her closer. And as his lips moved against hers and then further down to the crook of her neck, Hermione could only wonder why she hadn't kissed him sooner.


	2. Chapter 2

When Hermione woke up, she was keenly aware that she wasn't in her bed. The dark grey sheets and walls covered in pictures was a dead giveaway; she was in Sirius's bedroom. And he was right next to her, shirtless and snoring. Hermione knew she'd had a lot to drink last night, but she didn't expect to wake up drunk too; after a few minutes of deep breathing, she was confident she was sober, but that couldn't explain how they ended up in bed _together_.

She kept going over the previous night, and she recalled a flirty, _drunk,_ kiss in the kitchen, and then the two of them stumbling up the stairs. They'd disturbed _Walburga_ , who had started screeching at the sight of Sirius shamelessly dragging Hermione to his bedroom. She remembered ending up in his bed but then could only remember falling asleep; she was still fully clothed sans her shoes, so she was sure he'd tucked her in and then passed out beside her.

"Hm, not just a lecherous womanizer but also a gentleman," Hermione thought to herself with a little satisfied smirk.

"What're you smiling at, Kitten," She heard his delicious voice mutter from beside her, startling her a bit.

"I thought you were asleep," She replied, not answering his question.

"Whenever there is a gorgeous witch awake in my bed, I can't sleep, call it a sixth sense." Sirius teased, propping himself up on his hand to look down at her.

"I'm sorry I mauled you last night," Hermione chuckled, very embarrassed at how forward she'd been now that she was sober.

"No apologies necessary love, I egged you on," He smirked in response, "Has anyone ever told you that you're bloody _gorgeous_ when you're angry?"

"I'm surprised your mother didn't magically manifest herself out of that portrait last night, I've never seen her so angry," Hermione mentioned, trying again to sidestep his flirtatious comments. Though she knew that he saw her cheeks turn bright red at his teasing.

"She always was a horrendous prude," Sirius told her, his eyes turning serious for a mere moment before that playful glint returned.

"Now darling, would you like to elaborate on that crush of yours we were discussing last night? It was an utterly _riveting_ conversation." He said as he slowly moved closer to her on the bed, Hermione thought her heart might beat right out of her chest.

"Well, I-" Hermione started, but her mouth went dry at the thought of telling him about just how _long_ she'd wanted to kiss him. It was embarrassing.

"Nothing to be ashamed of, I am quite a catch," Sirius told her, the self-satisfied look on his face made her want to smack him and laugh at the same time.

"Sirius," She replied, almost sadly. She wouldn't have taken the drunken initiative if she knew he was going to tease her the next morning. Hermione had been nursing this crush for years, and hearing him poke fun at it made her chest hurt.

"I'm not making fun of you, love; I'm happy you kissed me last night." Sirius said, his gaze turning concerned, "As long as your happy you did." He quickly added.

"I am, I'd wanted to do it for a while. But now I'm not quite sure what to do." Hermione confessed, pulling the blanket on his bed almost up to her chin. She felt so insecure that she was wanted to pull the blanket over her head and hide from him.

"How about we spend the day together?" Sirius asked, lowering himself to look into her eyes.

"Are you sure you want to?" She replied almost too quickly; she couldn't believe that he wanted to be around her outside of the context of her being Harry's best friend.

"Kitten, of course, I do. You're so smart it's almost scary, and you're an absolute firecracker. I'd be honored to spend the day with you." Sirius told her, the look in his eyes almost incredulous that she didn't understand how much he enjoyed her company.

"Well, what should we do then?" Hermione asked, instantly regretting it when she saw the devious smile that appeared on his face.

"Have you ever ridden a motorbike, Kitten?"


	3. Chapter 3

Hermione was sitting in the library of Grimmauld Place reminiscing over the past few months; they were surprising and beautiful in all the right ways.

She'd gotten drunk and _finally_ kissed Sirius after months, nay years, of pining after him, and surprisingly, it hadn't ruined everything. She'd woken up his bed to find he was quite pleased with her initiative.

It started with them taking rides on his motorbike, which took some serious convincing from Sirius, and then it evolved into nights spent in the library watching muggle films. Sirius had an affinity for anything with action and adventure, and she couldn't deny him the innocent pleasure of watching movies. It made her nights so much better, no longer sitting in her room alone reading a book wondering what he was doing somewhere in the house. After the kiss she no longer saw living in Grimmauld Place with only Sirius as a difficulty, but as a blessing. Harry and Ginny had moved out when they'd gotten married, and Hermione had thought of getting a place of her own. But she wasn't particularly inclined, as least at Grimmauld Place, she felt safe. Now they had all the privacy and space to explore whatever was growing between the two of them. She more often than not slept in his room, and they were falling into a domestic routine that warmed her heart. Sirius had been very gallant and proper after a few weeks and asked her to be "his witch." She had to keep herself from laughing at the formality of it because she could see how nervous he was, though she didn't understand why. She already felt like his witch and hadn't given him any indication that she didn't want to be.

After that they'd spent two days wrapped up in the sheets of his bed, a tangle of sweet words and limbs. They were completely cut off from the rest of the world. It was more than Hermione had even dreamed of; the way he looked at her threatened to stop her heart.

After those two days, Harry came around looking for them, and they'd both pretended that nothing had happened. It felt wrong; she hated lying to Harry. But neither knew how to admit to him what had been happening; they cared so much about him they couldn't bear the thought of pushing him away. After he left, they discussed what they were going to do and decided they need to tell him. As soon as possible because neither could face lying to him for long and if they genuinely were _together,_ they couldn't keep it a secret from everyone. How could they? It felt like a betrayal, and neither liked how the false words felt on their lips.

Sirius asked Harry and Ginny over for dinner the next night, and they happily obliged. Both Sirius and Hermione had been scarce the past few weeks, and they were excited to see their friends.

**OoOoO**

"Excuse me, _what_?" Harry asked, the shock evident on his face.

"Harry-" Hermione started to explain but was cut off by a shrill screech coming from Ginny. Everyone's head snapped to attention, looking at the red-faced witch before them.

"You _finally_ did it!" Ginny screeched, toppling over her chair as she rounded the table to pull Hermione into a big hug.

"Gin-" Harry started his tone stern and out of place coming from him.

"Don't you dare Harry. They are happy, can't you see?" Ginny snapped, her arms not loosening their grip on Hermione one bit.

Sirius stared on in shock; Ginny reminded him so much of Lily in that moment, it was startling.

"But Gin-" Harry tried again but was once again interrupted by his wife.

"What? What problem could you possibly have?" She snapped once again.

"Just, well, he's so much older than her," Harry said sheepishly.

"And did you ever think Hermione was going to be happy with someone our age? None of them can even keep up with her. Should I remind you of the McLaggen debacle, or the Ronald debacle, or the Krum debacle?" Ginny replied, finally returning to her seat beside her husband.

"A parade, huh?" Sirius asked Hermione in a hoarse whisper, desperately trying not to incur the wrath of the red-headed witch across from him. Hermione couldn't do more than chuckle at everything happening in front of her. Of course, Ginny would be their biggest supporter; she hadn't been worried about that. But she hadn't expected to have Ginny do the arguing for them.

"Does he make you happy?" Harry asked Hermione, rousing her from her thoughts.

"Very happy," Hermione told him with a smile, Sirius squeezed her knee under the table in response.

"I know you're my god-father and all, but if you hurt her-" Harry began, the threatening tone of his voice seeming to amuse everyone, even him.

"Harry-" Sirius started to reply.

"No, Darling, this is how you threaten," Ginny said with a smile that was decidedly too sweet before she was standing right next to Sirius. She leaned down and whispered something in his ear. His face paled, and he nodded in agreement of whatever words had passed between them, and Ginny looked pleased with herself.

**OoOoO**

Sirius had told Remus and Tonks on his own, Hermione didn't want the awkwardness of telling her former professor that she was now exclusively sleeping with his best friend. Instead, she curled up in the library with a book and a glass of wine while Sirius took them out for a drink. When he returned, he was sloshed and informed her that he had been pleasantly threatened and congratulated by the couple.

**OoOoO**

"I don't want to go," Hermione said, poking her head into their bedroom from the hallway.

"Not an option, love, we promised Harry," Sirius replied without looking up, this was the fifth time she'd told him in an hour, and he was too busy looking for an unwrinkled shirt to pay it any mind.

"But it's going to go badly. I can feel it." She replied as she summoned a shirt from the downstairs laundry room for him.

"Thanks, Kitten," He told her before throwing it on, "It's not gonna go bad, we both know Ginevra Potter would never allow it."

"Molly is going to call you a lech," Hermione stated, "Ron is either going to want to fight you or insult me, and George is going to be _entirely_ too pleased with the situation."

"First of all, Molly has always thought I'm a lech," He replied with a cheeky grin, "And secondly, I can handle _Ronald Weasley_."

"I just- I'm scared." She admitted the worry plain on her face.

"I know love," Sirius told her, pulling her into a hug "If you're having second thoughts-"

"Sirius, no." Hermione tried to explain, "It's not us that has me scared. They're the only family I have left, and I know they can be a tad judgmental. It's scary."

"I know, Molly Weasley will never be my biggest fan. It's pointless to try and make her. Ron will probably hate me even more after tonight than he did when I almost bit his leg off. But it doesn't _matter_ , because I have you." Sirius told her, holding her shoulders and looking directly into her eyes as he spoke.

It felt like a wave of relief was crashing over her. Without her parents around the Weasley's were the closest thing she had to family, but Sirius was right. She couldn't control their opinions of their relationship, but she'd have him no matter what they said, and that was more than enough comfort. Hermione couldn't; no, she wouldn't let them influence her to ruin the first time she'd felt truly herself since the war. Whenever she was with him, he melted away the tension she hadn't realized she'd been carrying around. It felt like coming home and going on an adventure at the same time. She could relax, be herself without worry that he would think she was an annoying know-it-all, or bossy. He liked that she knew so much, how she couldn't mistreat a book, and how she always wanted to help. She loved how he made her relax, how easily he could wind her up or down. He was like playfulness in a bottle, just speaking to him put her in a good mood. There were nights spent in front of the fire reading to each other, and afternoons chasing each other around the house, giggling like a pair of teenagers. Sometimes they'd go out for walks or to a muggle cafe and blend in seamlessly with those around them. They weren't a war hero and an exonerated convict when they were together; they were just _them_. It was peace neither knew they'd been looking for, but once they found it couldn't deny how right it felt.

"I love you." Hermione breathed, mostly to herself, but she knew he'd heard her. She tensed a bit because they hadn't said it yet. Hermione knew that it was complicated for him; he wasn't free with his emotions like she was. He wasn't emotionless, just guarded, and she respected that.

She looked up at him, panic tingeing her eyes, and he gave her a smile that would've turned any witches' legs to jelly.

"I love you too, Kitten," He told her, pulling her into a kiss. He kissed her with a tenderness that had her melting into his arms. His hands were gently, yet firmly, grasping her waist and behind her neck. Holding her to him as if their kiss was oxygen, their lips worked against each other in a quiet harmony that only proved how perfect they were together. He knew every curve of her lips after the months they'd spent together, but he still kissed her like it was the first and last time he'd be able. It left her breathless, curling into his chest, just trying to touch as much of his as she could.

"Just think Kitten, after tonight, I can kiss you like that all over wizarding London." He informed her with a cheeky grin, "And I plan too."


End file.
